Could Jennifer Lawrence carry an X-Men movie on her own?
The Oscar winner, 23, reprises her role as shape-shifter Mystique in 20th Century Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Though the blockbuster doesn't hit theaters until May 23, there's already talk that her character is worthy of a standalone movie, similar to Hugh Jackman's wildly popular Wolverine series.
"There was a regime [at the studio] that didn't see the worth in [spin-offs], and the current people who run Fox understand, embrace it, and we're going to do right by it," Lauren Shuler Donner, who's produced all of the X-Men films, tells Entertainment Weekly of the film franchise's future prospects. "I'd like to do Gambit. I'd like to do Deadpool. We'll see. There's a lot of really great characters."
Donner is also interested in a Mystique spin-off, as is X-Men: First Class producer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg. "I love what Jen Lawrence has done with her, and I feel like because she is in such a crowded ensemble, there's so much more opportunity if you were to follow her solo," he explains.
"The hope is that Days of Future Past will broaden the audience for X-Men such that it will motivate potential spin-offs even more," Kinberg tells Entertainment Weekly. Director Bryan Singer agrees with him, saying, "Everyone grew up knowing Captain America or the Hulk, but not X-Men characters—I didn't even know who Wolverine was. I call X-Men the bastard stepchild of the comic universes."
The next movie, X-Men: Apocalypse, is slated for May 27, 2016. A third Wolverine standalone movie is schedule to hit theaters on March 3, 2017; Jackman, 45, will reprise his role as the animal-like mutant.